“The heat? It was hot.”

Did you watch the coverage of the Boston marathon yesterday? I dunno about you, but it always gets me so excited. I can’t believe how fast those elites are. Even in the crazy heat. Blows my mind. Wesley Korir won it in 2:12:40 (which is a 5:04 mile pace!), and Sharon Cherop won the women’s race in 2:31:50 (which is a 5:48 pace!). I can’t even run ONE 5:48 mile, much less 26 of them in a row. People are so fast, it inspires me.

When asked about the heat, I loved Korir’s response after the race. “..the heat? It was hot.” He says that he excels in hotter conditions, and he knew that would help give him an edge over the competition. Check out his post-win interview HERE. He sounds like such a humble, funny guy.

Unlike the crazy heat the Boston marathoners had, today’s temperature out here in Boulder is ideal for my little 5K race tonight. 65 and partly cloudy. But ya know? I think I’m with Korir on the temperature thing… I love running in hot weather, dripping sweat and wearing shorts and a sports bra. I grew up in tropical, humid, blazing hot Singapore (it’s on the equator). And that’s where I ran for 6 years, so I grew to love (and somehow learn how to handle) the heat while running.

But running an entire marathon in 90 degree sun?!? Yeah, you guys who ran it? Are BAMFs. That is hardcore and I tip my hat to you. Congrats!

The BAA offered that participants could defer to the 2013 race, and about 4300 registered athletes did not run. Probably a smart and safe call, but now I’m wondering how that will affect this fall’s registration process for the 2013 Boston Marathon. Will qualifiers with times closer to the 3:35:00 cut off not get in now because of the 4000+ 2012 defer-ers?*

*Revision to original post: The BAA required that if runners wanted to defer their race to 2013, they had to pick up their 2012 packet. So it sounds like a lot less people deferred than I originally thought (thanks for clarifying that for me, Luke!). From the official policy on BAA’s website:

What did you think about BAA’s deferment policy? I think it was fair and a smart idea (safety should always be first), but part of me is sad that they wouldn’t let me defer my 2011 BQ when I had emergency surgery 3 days before the race last year. But oh well! Just had to re qualify :)Would you rather run a marathon when it’s hot and sunny, or cold and cloudy?Hot and sunny any day.

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The deferment apparently required you to pick up your packet still. 4300 didn’t start but of those 4300, only 430ish picked up their packet and are eligible! I was wondering this too so it sounds like it shouldn’t be too bad!

I like heat, too, but let me tell you, it was truly awful out there yesterday. It’s something you can’t appreciate unless you were on that course. That said, I’m so glad I did it–I know I am that much tougher now!

I think the deferment policy was fair and good. Those who took it, I respect for making the tough decision.

I’m totally not one of those people that can perform well in the heat (despite living in MD/DC and SC), so I would have absolutely taken that deferrment. Running 26 miles in that kind of heat is certainly something most people NEED to have trained for. Huge kudos to those that were able to, AND to those that had to make the tough decision to defer.

The deferment issue is bound to create quite a conversation when the time comes for 2013 entries, however as you corrected in your initial post, only 427 actually met the critera (according to the Boston Globe). I agree it was a smart move from a safety and liability perspective. For the 100th running of Boston, they increased the field size considerably; so……perhaps they’ll increase the size to accommodate the 427 who may fill those spots for 2013.

Interestingly, the temperatures are due to dip to the 50’s tomorrow around these Boston parts. Timing….it’s all about timing.

Deferment policy? I think anybody who took it is weak. Not weak for not running, because if you don’t feel safe running, then don’t run. But people took this as an opportunity to get into Boston 2013 without having to qualify. To me, that’s weak and I would never do that. As for actually not running in the heat, it wasn’t ideal, but I think people who are good enough to qualify for Boston are good enough to manage their body. That’s what I did, even though it wasn’t fun. For charity runners who deferred, though, I think that’s a good thing and a smart thing. I don’t have any issue with that. Only with the qualified runners who deferred. Again, the heat isn’t ideal, but it’s not like it was 130. Hydrate, pour water over yourself to stay cool, slow down a bit and you’ll be fine. No sense not even trying.

Cold and cloudy is ideal for running a marathon. 50 degrees, no wind, cloudy = PERFECT!